... them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age' " (Matthew 28:18-20). The words of Jesus echo with a command, a privilege, and a challenge. The Lord has challenged us to go forward as disciples ... begin a new path which leads to God? Baptism is a rebirth into the life of repentance. Scripture states, as we just heard, that John the Baptist came as a precursor of the Lord to provide a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4; Luke ...
... being blind. Load up the wagon." God uses even the likes of you and me to show God's glory and to proclaim God's truth, beauty and goodness. The second item in this job description might be best encapsulated by the text from 1 John 4:18 which claims that "Perfect love casts out fear." Without this love, the fear which chased away those potential disciples traveling along with Jesus in Capernaum was a fear of being associated with the scandalous message Jesus was proclaiming. Without confidence in God's love ...
... up to salvation." (1 Pet. 2:2 ESV) "Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 3:18 The MSG) Growth is the goal of the Christian. Maturity is mandatory for every child of God. When a Christian stops growing he ... how you can attain spiritual maturity. I. I Must Desire My Spiritual Maturity You will notice in verses 12 through 14 of 1 John that he identifies three levels of spiritual maturity. In verse 12 he speaks of "little children." In verse 13 he speaks of "fathers" ...
... I picked you to live on God's terms and no longer on the world's terms, the world is going to hate you. When that happens remember this. Servants don't get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you." John 15:18-20 (MSG) "For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for Him." Philippines 1:29 (NLT) You will suffer if you stand for Christ. But if you are a real Christian you will suffer even more if you ...
... I picked you to live on God's terms and no longer on the world's terms, the world is going to hate you. When that happens remember this. Servants don't get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you." (John 15:18-20, MSG) "For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for Him." (Philippines 1:29, NLT) You will suffer if you stand for Christ. But if you are a real Christian you will suffer even more if ...
... I picked you to live on God's terms and no longer on the world's terms, the world is going to hate you. When that happens remember this. Servants don't get better treatment than their masters. If they beat on me, they will certainly beat on you." John 15:18-20 (MSG) "For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for Him." Philippines 1:29 (NLT) You will suffer if you stand for Christ. But if you are a real Christian you will suffer even more if you ...
... voluntarily took on the yoke of His father in heaven. Jesus said in John 8:29: And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him." (John 8:29) He also said this: "For I have come down from ... Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. (I Corinthians 16: 17-18) It is used again in this verse. "Let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord." (Philemon ...
... . Did you know that God is on the lookout for people who will worship Him? He is actually seeking people to worship Him? In John, Chapter 4, there is a story of a woman who is drawing water from a well where Jesus happened to be sitting and they got ... the spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more." (II Corinthians 3:18, NLT) Do you notice something? It all comes back to the glory of God. The way to measure spiritual maturity is not by your learning ...
... of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" [14] And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." [15] He said to them, "But who do you ... ] And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. [18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it ...
... is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. [19] Now the works of the ... people. So, how do we become good and faithful fruit bearers? How do we Live By The Spirit so the Fruit of the Spirit is shared through us. John Wesley had a few simple rules. He fleshed them out with some specifics but there were really only three General Rules which he challenged all Methodists to live ...
... incident in the life of Jesus' friends that changed everything and allows us to see God in the Ordinary through our Friends. The passage is John 11:1-45 I'm going to read selected verses. [1] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and ... Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. [17] When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to ...
John 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 1 John 4:7-19
Sermon
Billy D. Strayhorn
... wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. [7] It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [8] Love never ends. 1 John 4:7-19 (NRSV) [7] Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and ... among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. [18] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not ...
... , and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. [17] When it was evening, he came with the twelve. [18] And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is ... Only one candle remained. Only one would follow Jesus to Calvary and stand at the foot of the cross with Jesus' mother. And that was John. When the Light of the World was hung on the cross to die; When the Bread of Life was broken for our sakes, when ...
... Walesa gave the first push. Walesa, a devout Roman Catholic who himself gives credit to the Polish shipyards and the Polish Pope John Paul II for the Fall of the Wall, was the leader of the Polish labor union Solidarity whose protests and human rights ... freedom than bashing down a barrier?” Neal Ascherson, “They’re Just Not Ready,” London Review of Books, 07 January 2010, 18. Do you realize this morning that the first domino has already been topped? Do you understand that Christ has toppled the ...
... ] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. Luke 18:9-16 (NRSV) [9] He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: [ ... Batman still doesn't get it. He's still driven by Guilt. Luckily for us, Peter learns what Grace is all about. You'll remember John chapter 21, the Risen Jesus has told the disciples to meet him at the Sea of Galilee. Tired of sitting around and waiting, Peter one ...
... of the Kingdom, brothers and sisters with Christ and Friends of Jesus. Those are just a few things the Good Shepherd called us. In John 10:14 Jesus says: "I am the Good Shepherd, I know my own and my own know me." If that doesn't convince you, ... loves you, God knows you, God treasures you, God forgives you, and God is with you. One of my favorite passages of Scripture is John 14:18 where Jesus says, "I will not leave you orphaned." And then in Matthew 28: 20, the very last words of the Gospel, "And remember ...
... world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. [18] "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. [19] In a little while the world will no longer see me, but ... two most important commandments: "Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself." Later on in John 15:17 Jesus says, "This I command you, to love one another." Pretty simple, pretty straight forward isn't it. Then why is ...
... follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10: 14, 27, 28 RSV.) No language or even music can reveal the full power and tenderness of those words. Yet — the fact remains ... able to return, certainly if he came back now, he would in all likelihood be killed. When her three children were 14, 16, and 18, they were all in detention at one time. Can you imagine how you would live with that as a parent – your children jailed and ...
... together and provide each other with spiritual counsel. One of Keeler’s most moving monologues was about Father Emil. Father Emil was 18 in 1931 when his father sold their farm out in Western North Dakota. His father had always had bad luck farming, and ... American slavery, the vilest that ever saw the sun, shall vanish away before it. (The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M., edited by John Telford (London: The Epworth Press, 1931). Did you catch the Latin w in the first sentence? “Unless the Divine ...
... it…remember how much you owe…you don’t need it…you’ve worn the last dress only once…you owe a fortune still…remember how John feels about it…don’t do it…get the behind me Satan.” She made it for about six weeks, and then came home one day ... in desperation. It was in the war on New Year’s Eve, and it was 42 degrees below zero on the battle lines. 18,000 American Marines were facing 100,000 Communist troops. Every Marine knew his odds for survival. At midnight, supper was served - cold ...
... body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago ..." (vv. 18-20). What those who want to use this as biblical warrant for "He descended into hell" in the creed would have us believe is that ... lynched. Most of them were black and most were killed in the South. It was a vile chapter in American history.[2] For John William King, no doubt it was bitterly ironic that the foreman of the jury that convicted him was a black man, the only ...
... nation, church, and God. As we celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord, when the three "super apostles," Peter, James, and John are privileged to witness the physical transformation of Christ, we see how these men were commissioned by Jesus to go ... those loyal to Baal. Elijah proved Yahweh's superiority over Baal and then had all the prophets of the false gods slaughtered (1 Kings 18:20-40). Lastly, Elijah was once again sent to Ahab to inform him of God's displeasure at his action in wresting Naboth's ...
... and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. - Luke 4:18-19 Wrapping the scroll up, he handed it to the attendant and said: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21 ... for God; it is God's love for us. He sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins. - 1 John 4:7-10 "God is love." When John defined God as love, he was not just describing a characteristic or an attribute of God. If he were, he would have said, " ...
... also may be encouraged to pray on their behalf. This is Paul's example in our text from Colossians. It is echoed also in Ephesians 6:18, which instructs us to "persevere in supplication for all the saints." How can we pray meaningfully for people that we do not know and may have ... us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). Jesus himself gave thanks for bread and fish before he fed the crowds (John 6:11). He prayed over those who were crippled and blind so they would be healed. But Jesus' concern was also ...
... programs is what will please people rather than what will please God. We are moving through a time of change and as it says in 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed." The question for Christians is how to ... promised Peter, Christ will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Behind the visible organization that will inevitably change as it has in a variety of ways in the last 2,000 years, there is an invisible pres ...